1991 Mercedes-Benz 350-Class Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The 350SD has gotten a bad rep over the years simply because of the initial quality of American Diesel fuel in the early 90s, with high levels of sulphur, which when burned created the high levels of carbon that clogged up the cylinders, whereas the Euro Diesel back in 1990 was at about 30 to 35 PPM as American diesel is now required to be. I have one with 180000 and performs perfectly and has been thoroughly checked out by the best man in the business, Pierre Hedary. Many many people who know their business and have owned one of these cars from the beginning, maintained it, or was lucky enough like me to get one that WAS maintained during the warranty period has a beautiful ride for a real good cost. REVISION: I have since pur another 100K miles on my same engine. Things I can recommend are, tighten the screws on the fuel distributor when they become loose. Mercedes this old love a weekend "tightening up". Watch the turbo drain tube and it is an easy leak to fix following MBWorld.com. Anyone can do it him/herself. If it leaks fix the leak. Watch the old vacuum pumps, they have slot headed (common) screws to identify them for you, REPLACE VACUUM PUMP if this is the case as it can fail and release thousands of little ball bearings into your engine block= Fried Engine. Watch all vacuum hoses and seals for leaks. IF IT LEAKS, FIX it. Mine runs like a champ still at 250000 miles plus and will even beat about any car on the interstate. Remember, Mercedes LOVE to be driven and driven HARD. Drive as fast as you can and engage the kickdown device where safe to do so. ALSO, a diesel additive/lubricant will keep your car alive a lot longer (4x) and cleaner running than not. Recommend Clean Diesel (White bottle) Redline (Best if you can find it and last (LUCAS). Watch for leaking fuel lines and if you need new call Ken at Stahl Motors in Monterey CA, tell him Keith sent you and he will cut you precise new lines and even give you a discount. These are the things I have learned since the last update. Don't forget 2500 Mile oil changes and periodic transmission servicing (Flush and fill). ALSO the worst thing you can do is ignore your cooling system. If in doubt replace the radiator (BEHR or other OEM) and water pump and fill up with a 50/50 mix of the new MB BLUE coolant. Mine runs at 80C even at 110MPH with the A/C going. Same in traffic. That blue is the bomb. Until next time.......Apr 20, 2009

Last of the W126 body Mercedes and one of the most rare models. Do your research before buying one of these. A good number of the factory engines shipped with defective connecting rods that lead to engine failures around 140,000 miles. Factory remain engines, like the one my car is equipped with, don't suffer this problems. Running properly the 350 is great to drive. It has tons of torque off the line, and can cruise at 100 mph all day long. The ride is excellent, you get the updated 89+ interior, updated 86+ brakes (which are some of the best brakes I've seen), and the 10 speaker Bose sound system on 1991 models. In this reviewers opinion don't buy one with an original engine.Jan 22, 2009